TITLE: The health map, a tool for health planning and management: the case of Mauritania

Abstract

The so-called health maps are an instrument for the promotion, democratisation and right to public information in health. They have also been a tool for contextualising and better targeting inequalities in the public health sector and other related sectors. This article aims to explain the elaboration of the health map of Mauritania, and its value in the planning and reordering of the supply of health services at all levels of the country's health pyramid in order to respond to the growing requests for information generated by various organisations, but mainly from the Mauritanian health sector. The methodology used to develop a participatory map of health assets in a specific African country is presented. The survey technique is used as a research procedure, as it allows data to be collected and processed quickly and efficiently. Geographic information systems were an important support to the work. The health map drawn up was a fundamental tool for the management and organisation of the territory in terms of health planning for the next 5 years. It has enabled health resources to be organised in order to achieve a supply of services more suited to the needs of the population, avoiding duplication of care, while at the same time becoming a powerful instrument to support decision-making. This territorial knowledge of the country allowed and made possible the subsequent implementation of Health Development Plans in the regions with the greatest health inequalities.